Luna's 9 New Year's Resolutions

This is going to be my last post of 2013.

It seems weird to think that I have only been blogging for the last 5 month of the year, but looking back it's been great. A little weird and awkward and things with the coffee shop didn't go that well, but overall it's been a good laugh. I wouldn't trade it for anything. 

To kick off the New Year I'm going to be boring and typical and do a New Year's Resolutions post! Be excited! 

LUNA'S 9 NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS (because I couldn't think of 10...9 was really pushing it)

1. Eat less Cheez-its. It's my go to vending machine snack, I'm going to try mixing it up. Go for the Gardettos more often.

2. Limit my Netflix watching to one TV season a day. Stupid auto-play.

3. Clean my apartment. Mona and I are slobs. Right now the place is starting to smell it's so bad. And just to note: this resolution is not to keep the apartment clean for a the whole year. It's just to clean it. Once. That's it. I don't want to over commit and feel terrible for not keeping a resolution when I know I will never in my life be able to keep it. 

4.  Drink more coffee. For me this is equivalent to try and be happier. Coffee makes me happy therefor it is the key to happiness. It's logical. Don't question it. 

5. Go to the lady doctor. I know this is a strange one and most you probably don't want to know this much information about me, but it's my blog and I can do whatever I want. This doctor just weirds me out to no end, so I have been avoiding. My periods have been irregular for the last year, so I think it's time for me to go. When I think about it mind jumps immediately to ovarian cancer, but upon using WebMD it could also be a brain tumor, who would have known! In all reality it's probably just stress, but why not think of the worst first then I will be less stressed when I find out it's just stress. I think it's a win win. 

6. Say yes more. Except to Mona, she loves it when I say no before she even finishes asking a question. And possibly drugs, but that ones up in the air. I'll have to feel out the situation.*

7. Avoid getting a boyfriend or going on dates. This year I was asked out once and had to turn the guy down and then I accidentally ended up on kinda date with another guy. This is unacceptable and something I have tried to avoid most of my life. I will not slip up again this year. This one might interfere with number 6, but if I play it just right I won't have to say yes or no. 

8. Get a cat or five. This lines up perfectly with number 7. Either way I really do want at least one cat. 

9. Get my lips tattooed so I never have to put on lipstick again. Okay, so maybe I don't wear lipstick, but a patient was just talking about getting all of her makeup tattooed on and I am highly intrigued. I didn't get a chance to ask if it hurts to get your lips tattooed. I wonder...?  

Well there you go, my 9 New Year's Resolutions! Hope you have a few goods ones set for yourself as well! 

Have a happy New Year everyone!!! And may and may all your 2014 resolutions come true!

*I do not condone drug use

I Need Sleep

I'm going to lose it soon. I'm on the brink of my patience.

First off, I haven't slept more than 3 hours all this week. Try as I might I just can't sleep. I'm at the point where sleep deprivation symptoms are setting in. And the main symptoms are crankiness and irritability and aversion to stupidity. Everything is irritating me today. Even inanimate objects. You know it's bad when you want to flip out on your pants in the morning. I ended up wearing a dress just to spite them. 

Then I get to work...

One of my fellow receptionists didn't show up today and another was an hour late. I had to do all three of our jobs.

One of my physical therapists had a last minute funeral to go to this morning. Reschedule all of her morning patients. (Just to clarify I was not upset about her going to the funeral, just that I had to reschedule patients on top of everything else I was doing...just because I'm cranky doesn't mean I'm heartless)

The Prosthetist went home sick. Reschedule all of his patients. (he, on the other hand, was being a wimp)

Phones ringing off the hook, patients who don't want to stop talking or make decisions about when they want to come in. One lady was worried about an appointment conflicting with another appointment in march...I was just trying to schedule her for this Tuesday. 

Another employee complaining to my boss about me not answering their internal phone call (when I'm dealing with a million patients) to cancel an appointment for next week. (I'm sorry internal phone calls are less of a priority. Give me a minute.)

Sigh.

Deep Breath

Sigh.

I just want a nap. *sniff*

I'm starting to calm down now. K brought me Starbucks coffee this morning and I'm trying to focus on that one nice moment instead of all of the increasingly irritating ones. My HappyCappi always makes me feel better. It makes smile and calms me down. 

But a nap would still help. 

Christmas Wrap Up

The Best Gift Received: Gift Yarn Ball. If you don't know what that the heck a Gift Yarn Ball is then let me tell you. It's a giant ball of yarn rolled into a ball...with gift cards inside. At least that's what I'm told. I have yet to see these "gift cards". Not that I haven't been trying! I picked up those knitting needles (that also came with the gift) and have been knitting like mad ever since. It's hard to knit while doing family holiday things...playing card games, eating food, and such. I have basically been knitting for the last day and a half and feel like I have gotten nowhere! I'm telling you this is a GIANT BALL OF YARN!! 

The Best Gift Given: Every year, us adult grandkids, try to get Gma the BEST GIFT EVER! A few years ago we got her one of those record your voice storybooks. All of us sang the story of Frosty the Snowman into this recording book and, let's just say, we sounded like angels (or crazy people your choice). There were funny voices and attempted opera and we all did our own rendition of the Thumpety Thump Thump part...at the same time. It was beautiful. And right before she opened she might of mentioned something about hating Frosty the Snowman. IT was great. She loves it. THIS year we got her a lovely blanket. A blanket will our faces on it. Now I know you are probably picturing a cheep fleece blanket with a printed picture of us on it, but no! We went for the upgraded WOVEN blanket. That's right our faces were woven together by Walmart to make this wonderful gift. Which, surprisingly, turned out better than any of us thought it would. 

The Christmas Card: I got a card in the mail from Grandma (not Gma, my other grandma) signed Aunt Theresa. The surprising thing is that she remembered to send a card at all. She was addicted to alcohol and prescription medication for most of her life and that kinda kills your memory cells. 

The Game: We are a big game playing family at Christmas. Every year we buy a new card game or board game to play. This year's game was Cards Against Humanity. If you have never heard of this game it's basically a VERY adult version of Apples to Apples. It was hilarious and very dirty. Doug, my cousin, had to explain a lot of the cards to us young and innocent players and we even had to Google a few of the words, a lot of which you could only find on Urban Dictionary (that's saying something). I am not a swearer and I don't talk dirty (you know I like to keep it classy), so Doug found it hilarious every time I read the cards out loud. He said I sounded like I was swearing on Downtown Abby. 

The Doctor: I ended Christmas by bawling my eyes out!! Yes, that's right, I'm talking about the Doctor Who Christmas Special and Matt Smith's Doctor's regeneration. *SPOILERS* Over all, I disliked the episode. This was suppose to be a crucial episode that has been built up for a long time. With Trenzalore and The Silence and The Question and The Last Regeneration and it was all just disappointing. They narrated it like a story that happened long ago. It felt like an old legend with all the details and explanations left out. There was not a lot of action and the action that was there seemed out of place. And I didn't like old man Matt, but, once he changed back to his young self, his final exit scene was heartbreaking and wonderful. I have to say that I am not a fan of 11 (technically 12? 13? They didn't explain 13 very well either, but I'm sticking with calling him 11 to make things easier) and Clara together. There is just something about her that rubs me the wrong way. I think she will be good with Peter Capaldi, but she just didn't work with Matt (Amy and Rory are his people on and off screen). SO my point, I have one I swear! I LOVED that he saw little Amelia Pond (although you could tell the skinny little girl wasn't the real Amelia Pond) and grown up Amy. I really started crying there (okay I really started crying when he saw the stupid crack in the wall because it reminded me of little Amelia and Matt's first episode, don't judge me). I will miss Matt a LOT. It took me a minute to warm up to him, because David's my Doctor, but he really did steal my heart. It was extremely sad. I cried more than anyone should over a television show (but it wasn't as bad as when David Tennant left) I am sorry to see Matt go, and I'm so sorry that this bad episode was his last, but I'm excited to see what Capaldi will do with role and what adventures lie in store for The Doctor.

The End: Over all it was a wonderful holiday. I hope your's was wonderful as well and  full of good cheer. 

Merry Christmas Hector

Merry Christmas everyone!!

I'm off to the big city of Milwaukee to celebrate Christmas with my family, but I am not traveling alone.

I am traveling with Hector, Hector Berlioz. What? You have no idea who Hector Berlioz is? No, he's not my boyfriend.  He was a French Romantic composer, best known for his compositions Symphonie fantastique and Grande messe des morts. He's dead. No it's not creepy. I don't actually have Hector Berlioz in the car with me. I just have a miniature bust of Hector. Still think that's weird? Well, I have a good reason. I swear!

It all started on a cold Christmas Eve who knows how many years ago (yeah so my memory's not the best). A family member browsed the selves of the department store (dollar store) looking for the perfect gift for our gift exchange and came upon Hector who was begging to be taken off the shelf (this reminds of the song Ladies Choice from Hairspray...now I'm going to have that song stuck in my head the rest of the day and it's not even Christmas music!). No one knows who actually brought Hector home and put those cheep sunglasses on him and wrapped him up for Christmas, but we don't know what we would do without him now.

This is Kinda what Hector looked like before we got
our hands on him. I will upload a picture of our Hector tomorrow

All of our family gatherings include Hector. Whoever has him will bring him and hide him just before they leave and wait and see how long it takes for them to find him hidden among the bookshelves or buckled in the backseat of their car or packed in their luggage.

Poor Hector has been through a ringer with us. He's been broken and glued several times over and we also like to paint him every now and then for special occasions. Right now he is painted red, white, and green, Christmas colors, to match the holiday season. His birth holiday (according to Wikipedia he was really born in December).

Every Christmas he gets re-wrapped and thrown into the pile of presents. We do dollar and white elephant gift exchanges, so he usually pops up when you least expect him. And you don't want to be caught with Hector. It's kinda like a Hector Hot Potato.

Love it. Who will end up with Hector this year? Where shall I hide him? Mwahahaha! (evil laugh)

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!

Caroling

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Friday night we bundled up and slid all the way to Walmart during a Wisconsin ice storm to do our traditional bell ringing for the Salvation Army (Otherwise known as the Salvo by us) 

Mom, Dad, Mona, and some of our friends do this every year. And this, as Julie Andrews would put it, is one of my favorite things. 

And we can't be boring about it, that just wouldn't be right. We sing Christmas carols while we are standing in the bitter cold for hours! 

I know you are picturing angels singing, but it's not exactly angelic.. 

We sing loud and off key with tambourines and egg shakers...we even had a triangle this year! And, I won't name names, but the last two years someone (Mona) has gotten so crazy they've broken bongos. 

We jump and dance and play our instruments all while singing at the top of our lungs. We can't sing a second verse to save our lives and we sing Feliz Navidad more than anyone should. But even with our off beat singing we raise the most money our Salvo gets from bell ringing and we have a blast!

The "Homemade" Gift

Yesterday I told you guys how I was giving Mona a homemade gift that she didn't deserve. I couldn't give too much detail, because Mona reads my blog, but we opened gifts last night! And...

BAM!

Homemade Christmas Sweater

It even has a stocking pocket

Be jealous. 

And Mona laughed at the idea of me making something homemade. Ridiculousness. 

She wears a Christmas sweater every day in December, so it was thoughtful on top of being highly creative and beautiful. Who wouldn't love it? If you want me to make you one...just let me know! 

Okay....in all seriousness, this was NOT Mona's real Christmas gift. I only made this gorgeous sweater because Mona laughed at the idea of me making something for her. 

It was out of pure spite I made this Christmas sweater. 

I went to Family Dollar on my lunch break, bought a shirt, gaudy Christmas decorations, and a stapler just to lead Mona into believing this was her real Christmas gift. It was payback for laughing at me. 

Mona was a real sport. She tried VERY hard to pretend it was wonderful. The only thing that gave her away is the face she made after she looked inside the stocking pocket to to see if there was money or a gift card (no such luck sister). 

I just about died trying not to laugh as she folded the sweater up very respectfully and thanked me for the gift. 

I let her sweat it for a few minutes as things settled down. We were just about to wrap things up the gift opening shenanigans, when I jumped up and said I almost forgot something.

I pulled a small gift, wrapped with delicate care (thrown in a gift bag on my way over), out of my purse. 

I gave the gift to Mona, she took the gift, pulled out the CD case inside, and opened it to find a CD filled will all of Mona's favorite Demi Lovato songs (Demi is one of Mona's favorite people) AND...

TWO TICKETS TO DEMI'S NEON LIGHTS TOUR!!

Mona was speechless.

She couldn't believe it. 

She was all ready to take that stupid Christmas sweater and move on with her life (hopefully wearing said Christmas sweater) and then I hit her with Demi!

I love lying to Mona! (This time it was for a good cause, unlike the time I wanted her to stop cracking her knuckles, so I told her she was breaking tiny bones in her hands ever time she did it. She believed me for years...longer than she should have.) 

Operation Demi Christmas Deception was a tremendous success!

(Also, while this may be a Christmas gift  for Mona, it is understood that the second ticket is for me.)

No Gift For Mona

MONA IS NOT GETTING A CHRISTMAS PRESENT THIS YEAR!!!

So, I told her that this year, because we are saving money, she was getting a homemade present from me made with my love, sweat, blood, and tears and do you know what she did?!?!! 

She laughed! She laughed right in my face! 

I told her how highly insulted and offended I was by her reaction and that now she was not getting any Christmas gift this year from me! I would take my wonderful and lovely homemade gift and give it to someone who would appreciate it. 

Sure, I don't do a lot of DYI projects and most of the ones I start I don't finish, but I am capable and intelligent woman. I can make a darn craft if I put my mind do it. No need to laugh in my face. 

She said she was trying to think of what I would possibly make her and she is picturing something knitted and for some rude reason the very idea makes her laugh.

She is insulting my crafting skills, my knitting skills (and let me tell you if I ever finished a knitting project it would be awesome), and my gift giving skills!! 

My track record of gift giving skills is near perfect when it comes to Mona. Every year she doubts me. She lowers her expectations because she doesn't think I'll top last year's gift, but I ALWAYS COME THROUGH!! 

Just because it's homemade doesn't make it a crappy gift. She should have more faith in me...or at least fake it!!! Come on!

I'm going to make her open it and eat her words. She is going to love my gift. And just to let you know it's nothing knitted...ain't nobody got time for dat. I'm a procrastinator, I would never have enough time to knit a sweater for a Christmas present. I'm so much of a procrastinator we are celebrating my family Christmas tonight and I still have to run out on my lunch break and finish shopping. 

I would tell you guys what Mona's gift is, you would appreciate it, but unfortunately Mona reads my blog. I'll let you know tomorrow.

Ice Cold Wake Up Call

Monday was my first day free of dogs!

On Monday night I was so excited not to have to wake up in the middle of the night (5:00 AM) to get up and let the dogs out. 

And by let the dogs out I don't mean open the door and let them go out. 

I mean, these people have a fully fenced in back yard and, on top of that, an electric fence to make it even more secure AND THEY STILL WANT ME TO GO OUTSIDE AND ACTUALLY WATCH THE DOGS SO THEY DON'T RUN AWAY!! Guys this is December in Wisconsin, it wasn't warm. It was ridiculous. 

So, again, I was excited not to have to be up at five in the morning standing outside in the cold. I had set my alarm for 6 (had to be to work by 7). I had taken a shower the night before, so when the alarm went off I decided to hit the snooze button for another 30 minutes. It was so nice. I had a smile on my face as I quickly turned to lay back down and drift back into a peaceful slumber. 

I guess I turned to quickly because I ended up with ...

A FULL GLASS OF ICE COLD WATER ON MY HEAD!! 

Talk about a freezing cold wake up call! 

I had set a tall glass of water on my headboard the night before and had knocked it over...right onto me.

I've always seen people being awoken this way in the movies, but I always thought "Oh, that wouldn't be so bad!"

I don't admit this often, but I WAS WRONG.

It was terrible!

But you know it actually works! It wakes you up and it's hard to go back to sleep because EVERYTHING is wet, not just your face like it shows in the movies. I was drenched, my pj's were wet, my pillows were soaking, and my mattress was a sopping mess! 

So much for peacefully sleeping in! I don't think I'll ever put my water on my headboard again. 

Porcelain Child

You know those word magnets you put on your fridge and can make all sorts of funny sayings? I like to use ours, at home, to write poetry. I like the challenge of only having select words to create something beautiful.

Well I found this website, Poet Magnetic Poetry Kit, which is a web version of the fridge magnets.

I've been addicted all morning!! Here's what I came up with:

Porcelain Child

My ghostly porcelain child

Born of bleeding broken glass

Remember the poison of this flower

Surround by blushing champagne

Marble concrete lingers after a fools desire decays

Man may devour the young

Darkly ferocious to lie to its haunting

Yet morning will wake that throbbing fever

Listen for it's soft warm words

As they overcome the wild rhythmed growl

This poem is about how our society has an unrealistic idea of perfection and teaches it to our children. Perfection isn't all it's cracked up to be and eventually you will grow sick of the hold it has on you and you will want to get out from it's evil trap.

Some of the crazy things you can come up with only having a few words to choose from! It forces you to be more creative and use your imagination.

Give it a try! What can you make with these words? 

Moving On

Well, it's over.

We tried contacting coffee boss Mandy to work things out.

We waited and waited and waited.

No response.

And then we were taken off admin on the Facebook page.

We figured this was her way of telling us she was done and that she didn't want to talk to us anymore, so we started to move on with our lives.

Mona was offered a full time promotion at her other job, working the hours she normally worked at the coffee shop, and she took it. I started looking for another part time job and put my applications in a few places.

I was having way too much fun looking on Craigslist. I could shave my head for $500 dollars, be a part of a local gang like movie (there was lots of drinking and swearing in the promo video), or become someone's sugar baby.

While all of those sounded appealing, the one that really caught my attention was a person looking for someone to write a screenplay about their life. How fun would that be? I love writing and it sounded so intriguing, how could I not respond? So I did. (I am still waiting to hear back)

Mom was yelling at me about looking for jobs on Craigslist, especially with the ones I was suggesting as good jobs. She was going on about the Craigslist Killer and how I shouldn't even be looking for jobs on there or responding to ads. She thought I was going to be killed, just by sending an email.

Craigslist people can be nice! I once watched a documentary where a guy lived for a month just off of Craigslist and the kindness of people he met through it. He had no money or contact with anyone he knew. He even found his camera man through Craigslist. The way people were willing to connect and help this guy was amazing. He only spent one night without someplace to stay. I loved it and thought for awhile about giving it a try, but I would be killed by Mom before the Craigslist Killer could ever get to me, so I didn't. If you want to watch it was on Netflix and called Craigslist Joe. Mona, of course, hated listening to me talk about it, but you might like it.

Mandy, the coffee boss, did end up responding eventually, but by then it was too late, we had already moved on. Mona really wanted to send her the video of the song Gotta Go My Own Way from High School Musical. She said the lyrics fit perfectly with what she was feeling:

But, Mona didn't think Mandy would appreciate it much, so she just went with "We didn't hear from you and we moved on"

Mandy had lots of excuses for everything and made everything seem like Mona's fault. She ended by saying it was for the best that we didn't come back.

So this part of our coffee shop journey has come to a close, but that doesn't stop us from moving forward.

Eventually we will have our own coffee shop.

Integrity

Thank you guys. For listening to my vague problems and letting me vent about everything that has been going on with the coffee shop and for taking the time to be apart of my life by offering such great support for Mona and I.

After countless hours of Mona and I talking about what to do with Mandy, we have decided to go forward with the coffee shop at this point in time with a reevaluation come January. 

We made a promise to Mandy to help her open downtown. Even though she has not treated us the best over the last two months, that does not void us of our promise. 
If she chooses not to keep us or schedule us hours, that will be on her. 
And, on top of not breaking our promise, ditching her right now could be detrimental to our reputation in the community and might hurt our chances of having a successful business down the road.

You may think us idiots for sticking it out any longer, and I may be with you on that, but it's more than just about Mandy, it's about our integrity.

in·teg·ri·ty

noun

1. 1.

   the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness.

   "he is known to be a man of integrity"

   synonyms:

   honesty, probity, rectitude, honor, good character, principle(s), ethics, morals, righteousness, morality, virtue, decency, fairness,scrupulousness, sincerity, truthfulness,  trustworthiness

We want to have strong morals and be fair and decent and trustworthy. And to do that sometimes it means doing the thing you want to do the least. In this case staying true to our word and not throwing Mandy out to the wolves. 

And even though we are staying things will be different. She has lost our trust completely and we will be watching her more closely. And If things still seem bad, come January, we will gracefully make our exit.

Another thing with Mona and I love is...we love the coffee business. We love making coffee and most importantly we love the customers who come in for coffee. They are like our family.  

We can't, financially, open our own coffee shop yet, so this is as close as we can get to the business for the time being.

Now we just have to see if Mandy still wants us around or not. If not then it's out of our hands.

Bitter Cup of Coffee

I've been trying all day to explain exactly what happened with Mandy and the coffee shop yesterday and today, but I just don't have the words.

So much has happened I just can't wrap my brain around it.

The jest of it is that the coffee shop (you can read about our last coffee shop problems HERE and the follow up HERE) reopened today without us and things are not good between Mona and I and the coffee boss. We have been trying to work things out since the last incident, but things seem to have only gotten worse.

It's so bad, that after yesterday, Mona wants to puke.

Coffee boss, Mandy, is not treating employees or her customers with any respect. And, with the way she is heading right now, she is going to ruin this coffee shop. She is not a good business owner and she seems completely oblivious to the damage she is causing. It's a hard situation, because we really like her as a person, but, as of right now, Mona and I are seriously thinking about leaving because of the environment Mandy is creating.

Mom thinks we are in an abusive relationship and we should get out now and just leave her without looking back, but we are trying to do things in a respectful and civil manor and decide what is best for our future.

OH VEY! We really don't know what we should do!

I know you don't have all the details, but if anyone has any helpful life advice it's more than welcome right now...

Doctor Who and the Biffs

Mona, Becky and I have an on going Facebook Chat appropriately named Biffs.

We basically talk to each other all day long.

Becky and I like to use it to send Doctor Who pictures back and forth to each other. Mona tolerates our Doctor Who obsession, because she doesn't want to be left out of the conversation, but most of the time calls us freaks. (We are slowly winning her over to the dark side...the other day I was talking about Alex Kingston being in another show and just called her River Song and Mona knew what I was talking about. Mona hates it when she gets Doctor Who references)

Anyways we had this convo via Biffs yesterday:

Becky

Luna this is you!

Luna 

Am I Donna or Katniss?

Becky

katniss

but charles is david tennant (Charles from The Accidental Date)

Luna

puke

That is just sick

How could you even compare charles to david?
Becky

because you love them both?
and Charles kinda looks like he could be british

Luna

I would be donna to charles and Katniss to david

Becky

fine
charles is like...micky

Luna

no

Becky

and you bilie piper

Luna

charles is like the master
no lower than that

Becky

thats a horrible thing to say
he is the rory to your pond

Luna

PUKE PUKE PUKE!!!
I am thinking about permanently leaving this conversation

Mona

Did Luna just say Charles is her master?

Luna

You did not take that in Doctor Who context

Becky

yeah...i think she's been reading a little too much 50 shades of grey...

Luna

shut up. shut up.

He's more like the silence. 

I try to avoid him and forget about him

Becky

yeah but even tho you try and forget he just keeps coming back...typical romance

he is the  craig to your sophie

the pete tyler to your jackie tyler

Luna

The pete who was a jerk and died

Becky

buuuuuut took her with him to the other universe

Luna

that was a different peter

Becky

that's the one im obviously talking about!

Luna

it's not the one i'm talking about

Exterminate me now

Mona

you freaks

Becky

YOU'RE A FREAK

Luna

you know you like it

you're drawn to it like a moth to a lighted ood brain

Mona 

Luna

maybe your just drawn to the idiot's lantern

Italy In Transit

Italy.

This May. 

Yes, please!

I was planning on not planning a trip or vacation this year to save money.

Then, last week, an amazing opportunity came up for me to go to Italy on a volunteer trip this May.

At first I was like, "ABSOLUTELY!" 

Then I was like, "No Way! I can't afford to go to Italy and I probably won't be able to get time off from work."

Then Mona was like, "Don't be an idiot, this is Italy!" 

Winter Palace of the Bogd Khan

Last time I was able to go on a trip like this was quite a few years ago. I traveled to Asia to teach English as a second language in Mongolia. I loved everything about it! The culture and the people I met were amazing!

 I stayed in the capital Ulaanbaatar. We saw the Winter Palace of the Bogd Khan and the Zaisan Memorial which was surrounded by poles covered in blue rags to bring good luck to those who tired them. 

I've been crammed into a taxi car with ten people and survived their insane traffic. 

We rode Mongolia horses across the grassy mountains and flew over the Gobi Desert. 

I've listened to Mongolia throat singers and was entertained by contortionists. 

Gher in Mongolia

I drank Airag, fermented mare's milk (an acquired taste), and shopped at the Naran Tuul Market (the black market). 

I've been inside a Gher and even learned to speak a few words in Mongolia.

But, I have to say, my favorite thing about this trip was the people, the Mongolians.  My favorite memory is when our bus broke down on the way to the country. We all sat, Americans and Mongolians, on a grassy hill beside the road with smiles on our faces, laughing and joking, as we waited for the bus to be repaired. The connections I made there, with these people,  I will never forget. I will never forget these people. 

I will never forget this trip.

How could I not jump at the opportunity to do something like that again?

Then I was like, "You're right, Mona, I'm in!" 

I put in my time off slip yesterday. 

My bosses are still doing all of the other employees priority vacation time (which I missed the deadline by a few days), so I will have to wait a while. But according to one of my bosses the middle of May (the trip is the 8th-20th) wasn't looking too bad for getting my request approved! 

FINGERS CROSSED!!

Will all this travel talk, what has been your favorite traveling experience? 


{update: moments after hitting the publish button of this post, my boss came up with my vacation request slip. I was APPROVED!! They even drew a little picture of Italy on the paper!! I LOVE MY BOSSES!! ITALY HERE I COME!!}

Super Nerdy Geek

Mona always says that when she leaves me alone too long I turn into a super nerdy geek.

She always scolds that she has to stay around to keep me grounded and somewhat human otherwise I would turn into a completely insane hermit.

RUDE MUCH? 

Well anyways, I've been dog sitting since the day after Thanksgiving and it is now the...oh what day is it even...lets just say it's been "too long" according to Mona.

I only have two dogs, the internet, and Netflix documentaries to keep me company.

I have been watching things like TED Talks, Hey Boo: Harper Lee & To Kill a Mockingbird, and a very interesting show about stripping human and animal bones for science.

I think the main problem Mona has with leaving me alone with my documentaries is that I want to share all the information...with her.

scienceblogs.com

I don't see why she doesn't want to talk about me watching a lion (who died of natural causes in a nature preserve) get skinned and gutted and then it's bones cleaned with flesh eating beetles and extremely high doses of peroxide? It's a true art form trying to pose the bones afterward!

And this documentary is the only way I could ever see this process...the government won't let people visit this facility due to a very high factor of emotion damages.

She also didn't appreciate the fact that I am now going to drag her to Monroeville, Alabama to see the courthouse museum that inspired the courtroom for To Kill a Mockingbird. I was quoting fascinating tidbits and facts to her about the author, book, and movie. 

Did you that Harper Lee considered herself to be Boo? Or that she was neighbor and friend to Truman Capote who is the inspiration for Dill Harris? Also, according to Harper Lee's 99 year old sister who was still practicing law at the time, Truman Capote and Harper Lee lost their friendship due to Capote's jealousy over Lee's fame! 

To Kill a Mockingbird is my all time favorite book, which Mona has never bothered to read (she tired to start once). Let's just say Mona's not much of a reader. She couldn't even make it through Twilight and she just barley scraped by the Hunger games at my enforcement. I bribed her with something or other (I can't remember what exactly) so she would finish it. 

I was also telling her about TED Talks and these head games that make you happy when your depressed and how faking it till you make it really works according to science (this is one of my life motto if you didn't know)!

I just don't know why Mona doesn't like to listen to me talk about these things? 

It could be the fact that when I'm left alone for a few days I talk about documentaries at a hundred miles per hour and don't shut up for hours. 

You guys probably don't know this about me, but I'm not much of a talker. Hard to believe I know, but it's true. So, when I get in this nonstop talking for hours mode, I've done a complete 180 and Mona thinks I've gone mad. 

According to Mona, Mom was even talking about how I was messaging her more on Facebook.

That really surprised me due to the fact that this is the conversation my mother calls messaging "a lot": 

Mom: Do you miss us yet?

Me: I'm going to be there tonight.

Mom: Yeah I get to see you! Do you look the same?

Me: Nope. I grew two feet and turned into a bleached blond.

Mom: Just like momma

Me: I also have 3 tattoos and 16 new piercings.

Mom: Sweet!! Are you girls watching Haven there so we can delete?

Me: Don't delete!

By this point Mom must of been sick of me talking because she never messaged me back. 

Gosh! No wonder I don't talk much! My family hates listening to me!

Although, Mona did kinda admit she finds me absolutely hilarious when I get like this. I of course took off running with that. 

And she is in luck, because I've got one more week of dog sitting solitude to go!! Mona's going to be in stitches when I get home next week!! 

(P.S. My family really does love talking to me. I just like to give them a hard time about it.) 

The Hills Are Alive!

If you were one of the cool kids last night...you were watching The Sound of Music Live!

If you have absolutely NO idea what I'm talking about, you are not only not one of the cool kids, but you are also living under a rock. #SoundOfMusicLife was blowing up all the social media networks last night! It was "it" social event to attend in the comfort of your living room. 

It was brilliant! 

First of all, I am a sucker for all things musical. There's just something about people bursting into song and dance instead of just talking about their feelings that makes me giddy. I sometimes wish real life was a musical. 

Second, I love live theater. Every show is different. You never know if they are going to trip and fall or miss their high note or forget all of their lines. Like last night when Carrie Underwood almost fell down the mountain! I literally gasped out loud! But thankfully Carrie caught herself just in time and the show went on! It's the suspense people!

Third, I love The Sound of Music. If you don't like it, I may be reconsidering our friendship agreement. Who doesn't love The Sound of Music? 

I knew it wasn't going to be Julie Andrews movie quality, but I went in with excitement and an open mind. 

And I loved every moment of it!

Well, except where they left out the young love gazebo dancing and the goat herding marionettes yodeling, but I can get past that. 

There was dancing and singing some of my favorite songs and the classic story we all love. It was wonderful! 

Some of the cast, especially Carrie, seemed a little nervous during the first few scenes, but they settled into it nicely. 

It wasn't the best live performance I have ever seen, but, if you know live theater, I would attribute this to an opening day performance. Everyone's nervous, it's the first time in front of their audience (in this case being broadcast live on TV) they don't have all the kinks worked out yet. It's not like you would see a few months in where they are a well oiled machine. 

That doesn't mean it wasn't amazing or worth watching. It just what live theater is! 

Mona and I were singing and waltzing around the living room and reading the hilarious #soundofmusiclive twitter feed along with the show. 

Afterwards, it wan't enough, we cranked the movie soundtrack with Julie (yes, we are on a first name bases) and kept the party going. 

Mona recorded me a vine of Climb Ev'ry Mountain to help encourage me this week. 

And we ended the night singing So Long, Farewell, as Mona walked out the door. 

It was an all around magical night! 

(yes, that last line was over the top cheesy, but I warned you from the start that musicals make me giddy)